AZ Arizona Lou Kiteboarder: Blog Archive 2011 Aug

Blog Archive 2011 Aug

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Mon 8/1 - First thing when they opened the door, Discount Tire rotated my tires and then I was on my way. On the way west I bought & installed a new head for my Remington shaver.
- Spent the night at Mt. Vernon, IL

Tue 8/2 - What a big day driving! To get farther, my new driving policy is to fix breakfast but not eat it until I am on the road. Today I drove all the way to Garmin's international headquarters in Olathe, KS to turn in my old

GPS: Garmin 885T

receiver and talk to customer service in person, then on to Cheney Reservoir to check out the Stones Jetty kiteboarding launch, observe no wind, a blue-green algae bloom that makes contact with the water inadvisable and to fix supper, then on to South Hutchinson, Kansas for the night.

Drive to Hutchinson, KS from OBX to visit

Stan: my older brother who lives in Hutchinson, KS and is a machinist for Eaton, Corp.

2011	Overall Avg mph	Moving Avg mph	Total Time	Miles Today	Total Miles	Low Temp	Night Location
Sun Jul 31	40.3	59.2	8:07	326.8	326.8	76° F.	Winston-Salem, NC
Mon Aug 1	53.9	66.2	11:55	641.6	968.4	?° F.	Mt Vernon, IL
Tue Aug 2	54.9	66.4	12:58	585.6	1554.0		Hutchinson via Garmin & Cheney Reservoir

Wed 8/3 through Sat 8/6 - Got into a routine that seems to work here since

Stan: my older brother who lives in Hutchinson, KS and is a machinist for Eaton, Corp.

works second shift and I like to get to bed early. We each do our own thing until we meet at Sirloin Stockade here in Hutchinson around 2pm. While I am in Hutchinson, I plan to eat two meals a day: breakfast in my van as usual and then lunch/supper at the Sirloin Stockade all-you-can-eat buffet. Between breakfast and Sirloin Stockade I hang out at the Hutchinson Public Library and work on my projects; mainly my website and followup on the

PASA: Professional Air Sports Association

ICP: Instructor Certification Program

. The library is one of the best I have ever been in, with a coffee shop, special areas and rooms, open WiFi and lots of patrons and helpful staff.
- During our afternoons together

Stan: my older brother who lives in Hutchinson, KS and is a machinist for Eaton, Corp.

and I did lots of visiting, went to some of his rentals to collect rent, check on maintenance etc., did some shopping, discussed finances, went to coffee shops and played with Stan's Yamaha and various other electronic keyboards.

Sun 8/7 - This morning

Stan: my older brother who lives in Hutchinson, KS and is a machinist for Eaton, Corp.

and I went to his church then took naps and then ate dinner/supper at Sirloin Stockade. After taking a bath I headed out toward

Anne's: my daughter, her husband, Robby and their two daughters Katie Rose and Brooke

in Altus, Oklahoma.
- Spent the night in Alva, Oklahoma

Drive to Altus, Oklahoma from Hutchinson, KS to visit

Anne's: my daughter, her husband, Robby and their two daughters Katie Rose and Brooke

2011	Overall Avg mph	Moving Avg mph	Total Time	Miles Today	Total Miles	Low Temp	Night Location
Sun Aug 7	59.8	63.9	2:02	121.5	121.5	79° F.	Alva,OK
Mon Aug 8	47.7	60.1	3:56	178.9	300.4	?° F.	Altus, OK

Anne: my daughter, her husband, Robby and their two daughters Katie Rose and Brooke

sleeping on Katie's trundle bed
eating breakfast with Katie and Brooke at the table in my van
going swimming at the Altus Air Force Base swimming pool and watching Katie go off the diving board and down the water slide
walking to Western Sizzlin' for supper with the family
working out in the air force base gym
watching various silly videos of Pair of Kings and Vigi-Tales Silly Songs
flying Brooke's little ladybug kite with Katie
flying one of my two-line stunt kites with Brooke (2 1/2 yr) and Katie (7 yr who flew it and did well)
going on a long walk with Brooke
watching the girls while Anne and Robby had a Thursday night date

Fri 8/12 - I monitored Brook during her morning nap and packed up the van while Robby, Anne and Katie went to school to "meet the teacher," got on the road at 4pm CT and spent the night in Tucumcari, NM

Drive to home in Phoenix from Altus, Oklahoma

2011	Overall Avg mph	Moving Avg mph	Total Time	Miles Today	Total Miles	Low Temp	Night Location
Fri, Aug 12	56.2	64.7	5:48	326.4	326.4	72° F.	Tucumcari, NM
Sat, Aug 13			9:00	530.0	856.4	?° F.	Home!

Sat 8/13 - I arrived home in Phoenix, AZ about 5pm MST, taking the Show Low/Payson route which saves 10 minutes and about 40 miles over going by Flagstaff on I-40 and I-17. Got the van all unloaded.

Sun 8/14 - Sorted the mail that came while I was gone; took Ken and Sabrina Crenshaw (neighbors who picked up my mail, sprayed any weeds and watched my house while I was gone) to brunch at Denny's; researched for a micro wireless mouse; researched Android smart phones; figured several time/distance scenarios for driving to Belmont and/or Pismo beaches; worked out at LA Fitness; bought bulk raisins and oatmeal at Sunflower Market; prepared donations of 22 pillows and 12 new T-shirts for tomorrow, updated this blog and went to bed.

Mon 8/15 - Called HTC about my Touch Diamond smart cell phone. They were unable to help me get the Voice Command program back on the phone, so I will be looking to get a new phone.
- After a little more research I decided to get an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S II. Reviews show it amazingly fast with its dual core processor. Its amazing 4.3" Super AMOLED screen uses less power than others. Samsung says that the unlocked version (international quad band GSM) is to be out in the US this month, so I will wait rather than getting the European version, which would not have a US warranty. Downside: I may have to modify some of my cargo shorts pockets to accommodate the phone greater size.

Tue 8/16 - I phoned Sandra Bull at

PASA: Professional Air Sports Association

. She said all my paperwork was complete and would mail out my

ICP: Instructor Certification Program

certificate today and email me confirmation with my instructor certificate number (KBI0279).
- At 10 this morning I took Ken and Sabrina

Crenshaw: next-door neighbors to the east

out for brunch at Denny's to socialize and as a thanks for picking up my mail and watching my yard when I was gone for 3.5 months of kiteboarding.
- Made a BIG trip to look at computer mice, cell phones, get groceries, etc. etc. etc.

Wed 8/17 - Decided on and filled out my early ballot for the August 30 election; trimmed the Natal Plum shrubs in front of my library; this evening bought a

tiny mouse: SMK-Link micro-mini, wireless

to use on my trips from the Tempe Fry's Electronics; went to the Tempe LA Fitness and finished up the day at Gangplank in Chandler.

Thu 8/18 - Today I organized the nuts in my van nut drawer for 16 days in anticipation of my next trip in the next few days. Right now there is little wind forecast for my expected destination, the southern California coast, so I'll just sit tight.
- To make it more usable and to give it more grip, I textured the scroll wheel, sides and buttons on my new

tiny mouse: SMK-Link micro-mini, wireless

with very course sandpaper. The mouse is now pretty ugly but works a lot better than it did with all its shiny, smooth, surfaces.
- For my website here, I finished up the Pismo Beach link on my Weather web page so I (and you, if you wish) can have easy access to the related weather information and links to the shops.
- I spent entirely too long resurrecting my little HP Jornada pocket shopping computer and organising my shopping list etc. for not going on the southern California kiteboarding trip.

Fri 8/19 - Wells Fargo >:( LA Fitness gym, a little shopping and Wells Fargo were on my trip list today. I wasted over an hour trying to get Wells Fargo to keep their agreement with me and got nowhere, so I wasted another hour posting this REVIEW on epinions.com:

TITLE: Wells Fargo violated agreement and doesn't care
REVIEW BODY: I opened my checking account 40 years ago with the promise that I would have FREE CHECKING FOR LIFE. Last time I checked, I am still alive, but Wells Fargo has decided to convert my free checking account to one that will have a $7 monthly fee unless I jump through their hoops.
It appears that Wells Fargo feels free to change things without integrity, honesty or regard for its customers.
More background information: I originally opened the account here in Phoenix. That was before the big banks main objective was to screw their customers, so there were not the pages of fine print allowing them to weasel out of their agreements. I opened the account in good faith.. The small bank with which I opened the account is no longer around, but was bought out by another bank, another bank, another bank and so on. Finally I found myself with Wells Fargo.
Today I wasted over an hour going to two different Wells Fargo bank locations and talking to their "bankers" and branch managers to no avail. They were polite, but either didn't care or weren't allowed to care.
One wonders what they will be changing next – probably something that will violate their agreement and cost the customer more money. ...and to think that congress bailed them out with OUR money!
PROS Many locations
CONS: Wells Fargo cannot be trusted to keep their agreements.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Go to a bank that has integrity and cares about its customers. That would NOT be Wells Fargo.
OVERALL PRODUCT RATING: Avoid it – (one star)
RECOMMEND TO A FRIEND? No
(I added the last three paragraphs in the body as extra fluff because epinions.com does not like short reviews).

Sat 8/20 - This morning I pulled into Ken's Transmission at 7:15 for their twice-a-month Saturday routine transmission service special, which starts at 7:30. There were already five people ahead of me which meant a 2-hour wait. Then I learned what I had suspected: that I needed to replace all four engine mounts, which could not be done until Monday.

Sun 8/21 - Getting ready to leave for California.

Mon 8/22 - First thing this morning I took my van in to Auto Tune to have the transmission serviced and all four engine mounts replaced. Yesterday and today while the van was in the shop, I prepared for heading out to California for kiteboarding at Belmont and/or Pismo Beaches. A big job (who cares) but with proper planning, I:

planned the route
laid out two wetsuits and a dry suit for cold water at Pismo
backed up my
computer
EeePC 900HA netbook
, both imaging and dragging and dropping modified files.
sprayed the small number of weeds in my front yard
organized and put in the van's gadget drawer
finalized the van's right seat box
final check of under-the-bed drawers for nuts, kitchen utensils & toiletries
recharged three sets of NmHi AAs for my camera
recharged both my DeWalt drill batteries
recharged my electric kite pump
programed the DVD recorder for the NBC late night monologues
put the mail hold card in my mail box
phoned my California friends in case we can get together out there
put the house on X-10 automatic so it will look lived in
disabled the shelf, couch and master bedroom lights and
cut my hairs
stowed the weather equipment from the back yard
closed all the blinds and check all windows double locked
reprogrammed the drip from 3 hours every 3-days to 6 hours every 2 days
packed the pantry dower
packed everything for the trip in the little refrigerator
disabled the batteries in my wireless keyboard
reset the house thermostat to 88 degrees
turned off the gas to the water heater
packed the camera and recharger bags

After a phone conversation with Kinsley Wong who has a kiteboarding shop at Pismo Beach I decided to ditch the trip, so spent the evening undoing all of the above. That's the way it goes when your life revolves around the wind.

Tue 8/23 - Spoke with Elizabeth Banta, the executive Director of Duet, the organization through which I have taken non-driving seniors shopping. I believe Duet does a lot of good and spends their money wisely, so decided to help pay for printing a new batch of their die-cut envelopes. They are about out of them and I figured paying for the new envelopes would multiply my donation, as it would aid in their communication, securing volunteers and additional funds. In other words, my contribution is of a type that would be multiplied in its effect. They got three bids and the printing will cost $1,481.00 If you are interested in helping out, your deduction will be tax deductible and up to $200 of your donation will qualify for an Arizona State income tax CREDIT. They accept all kinds of payment and you can contact them at 602 274-5022. Be sure to tell them your donation is for ENVELOPE PRINTING VIA LOUIS SELF. You can send your donation to me or, preferably mail your donation directly to them at:

Duet
555 W Glendale Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85021

Just so you'll know I put my money where my mouth is, I sent Duet a check for $1000 that leaves a balance of $481.
- Also today I sunned, rode my exercycle and worked out at Bally Fitness.

Wed 8/24 - Getting organized to maximize my accomplishments for these next two weeks of non-kiteboarding was my morning agenda today. I used my Vacation Return Do.doc file to categorize and plug in all the things I need to get done. Now let's see if I can implement the plan.
- this afternoon I did some shopping, buying nothing, at Fry's Electronics and Wall-Mart on the way to work out at the 63 E. Southern LA Fitness on the way to Gang Plank where I worked on a new certification page and this blog for my website.

Thu 8/25 - This evening, after stopping by the Moon Valley LA Fitness gym, I went to the monthly

ARA: Arizona Repeater Association (ham radio operators)

meeting down in Tempe. Interesting as always - this time presented by a

ARRL: American Radio Relay League

honcho about discrete ham radio antennae and other things. After the meeting I picked the brains of Clark Jones and especially that of Dennis Campbell about engineering an ammeter for my van's

LiFeMnPO: Lithium/Iron/Manganese/Phosphate/Oxygen

"house" battery. What a resource!

Fri 8/26 - Stopped by LA fitness on the way to Fry's Electronics to see the Android Samsung Galaxy S II's voice command features in action thanks to Jose and others there. I had them put their last one on hold for 48 hours, waiting for an online reply about installing Voice Command on my old

phone: HTC Touch Diamond smart phone

Sat 8/27 - This morning, picked up

George: younger brother who lives in Mesa

from his home and we worked out at Fitness Works, his gym.
- This evening I joined the Ham Feast group at The Codfathers English fish and chips. They let me eat my own food since I'm not too much into grease.

Sun 8/28 - YEA! I finally got my phone to synchronize its calendar and contacts with my online Google account. That means that all my stuff is backed up in the cloud. Also I found a Voice Command demonstration video. It is exactly the same as my

phone: HTC Touch Diamond smart phone

before I sent it in for repair. I can no longer endure a phone without it.

Mon 8/29 - After the Thunderbird and Cave Creek Home Depot I did my arms workout at Ballys Fitness.
- At home Depot I made my final selection for new sink, disposal and faucet. It seems I take a long time researching these things, but at least I get what meets my needs best.

Tue 8/30 - Bought stuff today and gave Home Depot a chance. They had me schedule the installation first. When it came to buying the stuff, they would not budge on the price, in spite of the fact that:

it is the end of the month and they might like to have another sale
I was spending almost a thousand dollars
I did not want to open a store charge card
I was ready to go see what Lowes had to offer

So I went to Lowes, about 10 miles away and got my stuff for 10% off. I saved a whopping $20 in the process, and was happy to also get a better garbage disposal and a better sink. I'll have two holes in the back of the sink rather than four, which I do not need or want.

Wed 8/31 - In the finance area, I finally got my checking account resolved. It started out kinda ugly with my check book showing $3000 low. Also I made PDF files of the receipts and documentation for my new kitchen sink, faucet and disposal.
- This evening I went to Gangplank, stopping by the Tempe LA Fitness gym on the way.

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